56 Things I Wished I’d Known When I Was Younger

1. I wish I’d known that failure was an option.

2. I wish I’d known there’s a difference between friends and drinking buddies.

3. I wish I’d known honesty, in all situations, is always, always, always the best policy.

4. I wish I’d known how to grow a pair and be more assertive.

5. I wish I’d known how to feel comfortably weird about being a little weird.

6. I wish I’d known how much my mum and dad really loved me, and all the warnings I got came from a place of love.

7. I wish I’d known that my thoughts don’t have to dictate my life.

8. I wish I’d known that home really is where the heart is.

9. I wish I’d known that intelligence is not something you’re born with, it’s something that can be worked on.

10. I wish I’d known that being positive can really change your thoughts which can indeed change your life.

11. I wish I’d known how to be myself more and not tried to imitate Tom Cruise’ (Top Gun) confidence (Although singing, ‘You’ve lost that Loving Feeling’ to girls sometimes did work )

12. I wish I’d known that the jacket of life could be altered to suit me.

13. I wish I’d known how to say No!

14. I wish I’d known that the phrase ‘just try it’ should apply to everything we do in life.

15. I wish I’d known that not being perfect is okay, and, in fact, striving for perfection is an impossible task.

16. I wish I’d known that not being ‘well off’ didn’t mean I didn’t have a rich life.

17. I wish I’d known that losing myself in a book wasn’t a substitute for living.

18. I wish I’d known that my thoughts actually control how I feel, and how I feel affects the way I see the world.

19. I wish I’d known that sex is a physical act and that love is something different altogether.

20. I wish I’d known that having two strong sisters was a blessing.

21. I wish I’d known that formal education was only one option in life and not the only, or best,  option.

22. I wish I’d known that starting a business didn’t require as much planning or money as I’d thought.

23. I wish I’d known never to settle for second best, whether it be in relationships, product choice, or employment.

24. I wish I’d known that loving yourself was a pre-requisite to truly loving others.

25. I wish I’d known how to plan my finances better.

26. I wish I’d known that everything I ever stressed out about would not matter one year later.

27. I wish I’d known that TV numbs the mind.

28. I wish I’d known that my mistakes would define me as the person I am today.

29. I wish I’d known that perfection is never going to happen.

30. I wish I’d known never to actively participate in gossip, it’s the black death of the soul.

31. I wish I’d known that nobody can be changed, no matter how hard you try to change them.  People change because the pain of changing is less than the pain of not changing.

32. I wish I’d known how to express my love more.

33. I wish I’d known that my regrets in life stopped me from moving on.  When it’s done, forget it and move on.

34. I wish I’d known that helping others was the real path to helping every area of my own life, business, and personal.

35. I wish I’d known that change is inevitable, and rather than fighting it, I should have befriended it.

36. I wish I’d known not to waste my time and mental energy on people who didn’t matter in my life.

37. I wish I’d known that life is a balance and I dictate the ratios.

38. I wish I’d known that it’s okay not to know everything.

39. I wish I’d known to live in the moment, and not in the future or the past.

40. I wish I’d known that trusting myself would allow great things to happen.

41. I wish I’d known that not all people are bad, but not all people are good either.

42. I wish I’d known that what’s right for me is not necessarily right for others.

43. I wish I’d known that although responsibility can seem scary, when embraced it gives understanding acceptance and choice.

44. I wish I’d known that one of lifes skills is to be able to spot genuine people.

45. I wish I’d known that things have to come to an end to be able to experience new, exciting things in the future.

46. I wish I’d known that learning doesn’t finish when you leave school.

47. I wish I’d known how to trust my instincts more.

48. I wish I’d known that the world is as big as you allow it to be.

49. I wish I’d known that I had choices, and my route may need to change but perseverance always got me through.

50. I wish I’d known that the world does not owe you any favours, you have to step up to the plate and be counted.

51. I wish I’d known that happiness is not defined by financial wealth.

52. I wish I’d known the importance of working out what was right for me.

53. I wish I’d known that all actions, always have a consequence.

54. I wish I’d known that my needs and desires would change over time.

55. I wish I’d known that doing what I wanted to do was not necessarily me being selfish.

56. I wish I’d known that where you are born does not dictate where you will end up in life.